Home / Gases / Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂)

In its pure form Hydrogen Peroxide is a very pale blue liquid, slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, or “high-test peroxide”, is a reactive oxygen species and has been used as a propellant in rocketry.

Melting Point
5.53 °C

Boiling Point
80.1 °C

Toxicity
-Toxic

Odour
Pungent, Irritating

Colour
Colourless

Weight
Heavier than air

Recommended 1st & 2nd Alarm Levels
1st: 0.5ppm 2nd: 1ppm

Toxic Dangers of Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen Peroxide can be corrosive to the eyes, skin, and respiratory system. This chemical can cause burns to the skin and tissue damage to the eyes.

Take special caution to avoid contact with hydrogen peroxide mist. Household-grade concentrations of this chemical are generally considered safe to use, but should never be ingested. Due to these potential hazards, hydrogen peroxide should be handled with care.

Hydrogen peroxide is most commonly available as a solution in water. For consumers, it is usually available from pharmacies at 3 and 6 % by weight concentrations. The concentrations are sometimes described in terms of the volume of oxygen gas generated; one millilitre of a 20-volume solution generates twenty millilitres of oxygen gas when completely decomposed. For laboratory use, 30 wt% solutions are most common. Commercial grades from 70% to 98% are also available, but due to the potential of solutions of more than 68% hydrogen peroxide to be converted entirely to steam and oxygen (with the temperature of the steam increasing as the concentration increases above 68%) these grades are potentially far more hazardous and require special care in dedicated storage areas.

Related Products

TOC-750 Addressable PID VOC Detector

TOC-750X Photoionisation Detector

TOC-750 Fixed SF6 Gas Detector – Addressable Detector

TOC-625-NHS – Oxygen Enrichment Monitor

TOC-30 Analogue Gas Detector

TOC-20 Refrigerant Gas Detector

Common Applications

Industrial Refrigeration

Farming & Agriculture

Food Processing

Green Energy

Typical Applications for the Use of H₂O₂:

About 60% of the world’s production of hydrogen peroxide is used for pulp- and paper-bleaching.
The second major industrial application is as an additive to detergents
It is also used in the production of various organic peroxides with dibenzoyl peroxide being a high volume example. It is used in polymerisations, as a flour bleaching agent, and as a treatment for acne. Peroxy acids, such as peracetic acid and meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid also are produced using hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide has been used for creating organic peroxide-based explosives, such as acetone peroxide.
H₂O₂ solution of 3% in water is used for contact lens soaking. The case includes a catalytic disc which neutralises the hydrogen peroxide over time.
Hydrogen peroxide is used in certain waste-water treatment processes to remove organic impurities. Hydrogen Peroxide can also oxidise sulphur based compounds present in the waste, beneficially reducing odour.
Sterilisation of various surfaces including surgical tools utilise H₂O₂ and it may be deployed as a vapour (VHP) for room sterilization. H₂O₂ demonstrates broad-spectrum efficacy against viruses, bacteria, yeasts, and bacterial spores.
Hydrogen peroxide is seen as an environmentally safe alternative to chlorine-based bleaches, as it degrades to form oxygen and water and it is generally recognized as safe as an antimicrobial agent by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
A less common application can be the treatment of acne on the skin. However benzoyl peroxide is a more common treatment for this rather than hydrogen peroxide.
Some horticulturalists and users of hydroponics advocate the use of weak hydrogen peroxide solution in watering solutions. Its spontaneous decomposition releases oxygen that enhances a plant’s root development and helps to treat root rot (cellular root death due to lack of oxygen) and a variety of other pests.

Finally there are some niche uses which include Chemiluminescence of cyalume, as found in a glow stick. Hydrogen peroxide has various domestic uses, primarily as a cleaning and disinfecting agent and as a hair bleaching agent. Hydrogen peroxide is also used for tooth whitening. It may be found in most whitening toothpastes. Hydrogen Peroxide can also be used to remove blood stains. This is because it reacts with blood as a bleaching agent, and so if a blood stain is fresh, or not too old, liberal application of hydrogen peroxide, if necessary in more than single application, will bleach the stain fully out. After about two minutes of the application, the blood should be firmly blotted out.